Committee of the Whole Minutes

MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE
OF THE WHOLE MEETING
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS
HELD IN THE ELEANOR ROHRBACH MEMORIAL COUNCIL CHAMBERS,
DES PLAINES CIVIC CENTER,
MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2007

CALL TO ORDER: The Committee of the Whole meeting of the City Council of the City of Des Plaines, Illinois, was called to order by Mayor Anthony W. Arredia at 6:30 p.m. in the Eleanor Rohrbach Memorial Council Chambers, Des Plaines Civic Center on Monday, October 22, 2007.

ROLL CALL: Roll call indicated the following aldermen present: Beauvais, Moylan, Murphy, Higgason, Walsten and Argus. Aldermen Brookman and Smith were absent. Alderman Smith arrived at 6:33 p.m. Alderman Brookman arrived at 6:40 p.m.

Also present was Acting City Manager Bajor, Police Chief Prandini, Acting Fire Chief Zern, Director of Community & Economic Development Conlan, Acting Director of Finance Simpson; and

Mr. Kevin McCanna, Speer Financial, 1 N. LaSalle Street, #4100, Chicago, IL 60602.

PUBLIC SAFETY - Alderman Beauvais, Chair

Acting City Manager Bajor stated that presentations will be made tonight pertaining to the proposed new Fire and Police facility projects; following that, a representative from SRBL Architects will review their needs analysis; and then Acting Director of Finance Simpson and Kevin McCanna, Speer Financial, will present a funding overview.

Alderman Smith entered the meeting at 6:33 p.m.

DISCUSSION/NEW FIRE DEPARTMENT FACILITY:

Acting Fire Chief Zern gave a PowerPoint presentation (in City Council folder) on the Fire Station Needs Analysis provided by Sente, Rubel, Bosman, Lee (SRBL Architects), 1161 A A@ Lake Cook Road, Deerfield, IL 60015 (approved by the City Council on June 25, 2007 in the amount of $10,900 - Resolution R-90-07).

Alderman Brookman entered the meeting at 6:40 p.m. during the presentation.

Acting Fire Chief Zern stated that the Fire Study presented a comprehensive analysis of the current deployment and response times for the Fire Department; the City Council and Staff established a response time benchmark of six (6) minutes or less to 90% of our requests for fire and emergency medical calls; this time includes: forty seconds for call taking, processing and dispatch, one (1) minute for firefighters to turnout and four (4) minutes of actual travel time to the caller= s location.

Acting Fire Chief Zern stated that the City= s current deployment is only capable of meeting the benchmark response time of six (6) minutes or less approximately 70% of the time (Fire Study); train delays are a critical factor in the deployment of Fire and EMS resources.

Acting Fire Chief Zern stated that there are three (3) options:

Status Quo - stay with current equipment and personnel, and response time benchmark; or

Four-Station Scenario - would result in an improvement in response time to calls for service in six (6) minutes or less from the current 70% to 83%; or

Five-Station Scenario - would result in an improvement in response to calls for service in six (6) minutes or less from the 70% to 86%.

Acting Fire Chief Zern stated that while a four-station or five-station scenario offers the City a substantial improvement in response times and coverage, neither will fully satisfy the City= s benchmark requirements of six (6) minutes or less to 90% of requests for fire and emergency medical calls.

Acting Fire Chief Zern stated that Staff is recommending the four-station scenario based upon a cost versus benefit analysis; while the five-station scenario does result in response times closer to the benchmark; Staff does not believe that the additional 3% over the four-station scenario justifies the sizeable increase in costs.

Acting Fire Chief Zern stated that the four-station scenario provided cost advantages, i.e. City already owns the site for Station Four on Central Road, City owns the Lee and Prospect site; fourth ambulance is already in service; only twelve (12) new Firefighter/Paramedics would need to be hired along with the purchase of one (1) fire engine; existing equipment and manpower would be deployed to staff the new Station Two.

Acting Fire Chief Zern stated that in addition to cost advantages, the four-station scenario would provide a 13% improvement in response time over the current three-station deployment; would allow for greater operational efficiencies and flexibility; would add a fourth engine company with ALS capabilities, and provide greater coverage to the North end of the City within the City= s benchmark response time.

Acting Fire Chief Zern reviewed the cost analysis which will be discussed in greater detail at the upcoming Budget Hearings.

Alderman Argus stated that she is going with what Staff has recommended; they have done a very good job. Alderman Argus asked if the response time was for an ambulance or fire truck. Acting Fire Chief Zern said both.

Alderman Murphy stated that perhaps we could use Station #2 for the administrative offices so the new station could be smaller. Acting Fire Chief Zern stated that the structure at Fire Station #2 is too far gone; it would be costly to rehab; Staff would prefer not being separated from the Fire House.

Alderman Brookman stated that she thinks there are other options that we haven= t looked into; there is no reason to accept that the administrative offices must be in a Fire House.

Alderman Beauvais stated that what is being presented here tonight is for information only; no decision will be made tonight.

Mr. Brian Burkross, 2133 Webster Lane, addressed the Committee of the Whole stating that Acting Fire Chief Zern did a great job with this presentation; six (6) minute response time is a very aggressive goal; very few, if any, reach that goal; he would like to remind the aldermen that EMS service will rise over the next few years; fire calls should remain about the same or go down because of better building materials, sprinkler systems, etc.; maybe we should have a EMS satellite service on the West side.

Mr. Jim Brookman, 702 Howard Street, addressed the Committee of the Whole stating that perhaps the City should look at a regional response for life threatening situations only where the closest community would provide necessary service until Des Plaines arrived; Des Plaines could do the same for other communities; someone has to get there as quickly as possible.

Mr. Joe White, 699 Rose Avenue, addressed the Committee of the Whole stating that he sent a letter to each alderman regarding the architectural company he works for who has built many municipal buildings; please consult us; there is a lot of input we could add to this project.

Mr. Bob Hinde, 381 Oxford Road, addressed the Committee of the Whole stating that three (3) years ago he and a former resident, Vince Powers, presented a map to the City of where to put the fire stations where they will be the least impacted by the trains; you have to consider train obstructions; you have to strongly address the train problem.

DISCUSSION/NEW POLICE DEPARTMENT FACILITY:

Police Chief Prandini gave a PowerPoint presentation (in City Council folder) on the Police Facility Needs Analysis; the current police facility was built in 1974 when the department had 102 employees; today the department has 130 employees.

Police Chief Prandini stated that in 2001, an architect specializing in public safety buildings performed a needs analysis of the current facility and reached the following conclusions: mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure is in extremely poor condition and little has been done to maintain the building throughout the years; a substantial amount of maintenance/renovation was recommended.

Police Chief Prandini gave an overview of the options:

Repair/Remodel Existing Station - $2.3 million is needed to renovate the existing building and correct infrastructure problems alone; this does not include the addition of any space (price quoted October 20, 2004); or

Infill Addition - enclose the courtyard area between City Hall and the Police Department would add approximately 8,300 sq. ft. at the cost of $8.8 million; constructing a third floor would add 6,700 sq. ft. for $2 million; this option would add 15,000 sq. ft. to the existing building for approximately $10.8 million, but would fall below the recommended size for a new facility (prices quoted November 17, 2004); or

Build a New Station and Garage at Current Location - demolishing the current facility and building a 56,000 sq. ft. station is an option that would require no additional land purchase, but would require the Police Department moving to a temporary facility during construction; this option would include a 250 space parking garage for approximately $23 million, but would fall below the recommended size for a new facility (price quoted October 20, 2004); or

Build a New Station at Other Location - the size and cost of available property will impact the construction of a new Police Facility.

Police Chief Prandini stated that Staff is recommending construction of a new Police Facility at a different location; the current facility does not serve our community well and is not designed for the safety of our police officers; there is lack of space for patrol and investigative functions to operate effectively, which includes interviewing prisoners, recovery of evidence and the movement of prisoners in common hallways with armed police officers.

Police Chief Prandini stated that from a customer service perspective, the records section should be located on the first floor near the front entrance; it is currently on the second floor and citizens have to request access from front desk personnel, and the hours of operation are limited to days for the safety of the records clerks.

Police Chief Prandini stated that the current facility has no meeting or training rooms; mutual aid investigators are forced to meet in a roll call room or workout area which has space for only ten (10) officers at best; there is no room for community events or news conferences.

Police Chief Prandini stated that currently the shooting range is located on the second floor at the Public Works Facility and is in need of repair; renovating the current range will cost over $600,000 but still won= t provide the additional space that is needed for the department; also this range is not compatible for patrol rifles and an off-site location must be utilitized; this situation affects the amount of training time that is essential to the safety of our officers based on Homeland Security directives, school violence and incidents, and encounters with violent individuals.

Police Chief Prandini stated that the current facility is not equipped with the technology to analyze evidence effectively; evidence must be processed and stored in a climate-controlled facility with limited access by authorized personnel only; currently most evidence is processed in the Police Garage and is subject to contamination from outside sources.

Police Chief Prandini stated that currently squad cars used by the detectives, tactical officers, community service officers, social worker and court liaison are stored outside at all times; the prisoner transport vehicle is also stored outside due to its size; this equipment should be stored in a climate-controlled garage when not in use; each marked squad is equipped with a mobile data terminal, video camera, radar, radio and a printer; proper maintenance of fleet and equipment can reduce annual budget expenditures for repair and replacement.

Police Chief Prandini stated that emergency response from the current facility is severely hampered during morning and evening rush hour traffic, especially to areas immediately south of the commuter tracks; the ability to respond to emergency calls for service in an expedient manner should not be restricted by heavy traffic and activated railroad crossings.

Police Chief Prandini stated that building a new Police Facility at another location would improve the quality of police service provided to our citizens and there would be an overall improvement in operational efficiency.

Police Chief Prandini reviewed the cost analysis which will be discussed in greater detail at the upcoming Budget Heaings.

Architect Jake Davis, SRBL Architects, addressed the Committee of the Whole and provided an overview of the Police Facility Comparison Chart, i.e. approximately 82,000 sq. ft. is being recommended to allow for future growth for approximate construction cost of $23,443,602; time of bid would be Fall of 2008 with estimated completion by 2011.

Alderman Murphy stated that this is a very aggressive plan; some paring down can be done.

Alderman Walsten stated that in 1998, the space was very cramped; trying to rebuild or renovate would not be wise; we need to build new.

Alderman Argus asked whether a new building would be built on the proposed other site or the existing building be renovated. Acting City Manager Bajor stated that there are two (2) options: new construction would cost approximately $29 million, to retrofit the existing building would cost approximately $25-26 million.

Alderman Brookman stated that Staff has clearly shown a need for more space; we have to look at what properties are available; we have to be wise in our priorities.

Alderman Moylan stated that when he toured the current Police Facility it was a real eye-opener; he found that a new Police Facility is needed.

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW:

Acting Director of Finance Simpson and City= s financial advisor, Mr. Kevin McCanna, Speer Financial, 1 N. LaSalle Street, Room #4100, Chicago, IL 60602, addressed the Committee of the Whole and reviewed the funding for 2008 Debt Service for the proposed new Fire and Police Facilities; design and site acquisition would take place in 2008, construction in 2009 and the addition of Station #4 in 2010, with total completion approximately 2011, for an approximate cost of $51,895,000.

Acting Director of Finance Simpson stated that in addition to the issuance of General Obligation Bonds, other potential revenue sources might be an increase in the Home Rule Sales Tax or the Telecommunications Tax.

Acting Director of Finance Simpson stated that further review of the funding options would be discussed during the upcoming Budget Hearings.

Mr. Brian Burkross, 2133 Webster Lane, addressed the Committee of the Whole stating that he was disappointed the a new Police Facility did not come first years ago; he thinks the residents would support a new Police Facility; he is not sure we need a new Fire Facility; maybe we could make due with one or two satellite EMS stations.

Mr. Joe White, 699 Rose Avenue, addressed the Committee of the Whole stated that the City needs to get competitive lower prices; it is unfair to use the same architectural firm for both the Fire and Police Facilities; his firm has done municipal buildings in other communities.

Alderman Beauvais asked if there was any way to get funding from the railroads since they impact us so severely. Acting City Manager Bajor said that would not be very likely, but Federal and State grants are a possibility.

ADJOURNMENT:

Moved by Brookman, seconded by Higgason, that the Committee of the Whole meeting of the City Council adjourn. Motion declared carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:17 p.m.

Donna McAllister, MMC - CITY CLERK

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